Who here believes in karma?

[dogmumma]

Exactly that. I'm just curious to hear others views on karma, experiences with karma etc....

No right or wrong answers. Just opinions.

It's wishful thinking.

Bad people get good lives.

Good people get bad lived.

Whenever someone says about karma coming around, others getting whats coming to them etc... I always wonder if the shit time they're having is actually their karma...

No - but sometimes if you wait long enough something bad happens to someone who really deserves it.

I don’t believe in karma anymore, I’ve seen too many good people get dealt shit hands over and over while nasty bastards live the life of Riley with no consequences.

I would like to believe it as it implies some kind of justice.

No not really. I think what can feel like karma is that the fact that actions can catch up with you which is just cause and effect really. Also the world can be a mirror at times so you get what you put out kind of thing can maybe seem like karma when it’s just human psychology.

Karma isn't a thing at all.

Why do babies die, why do so many murderers live well past their 80s?

Its all rubbish and wishful thinking imo.

I don’t believe in karma but I believe if you go around treating people like shit you can’t be a happy person inside

It's clearly bollox as most rapists/abusers go on to live successful lives with no repercussions.

Hmm. I did think about karma recently. My DN was pretty awful about her wedding. Covid cancel the first attempt and now the building has had a fire. But of course there are many many perfectly nice people who have also been affected sadly.

Not in the sense that I think you mean but in the traditional sense I believe that all actions have consequences on both you and others.

No , everyone's lives are full of ups and downs
However if someone is a nasty person or a bully , one day they'll pick on someone nastier than them and get their comeuppance.
Likewise if someone has a pattern of bad behaviour it is bound to backfire on them sometime in the future

@Untrained

I don’t believe in karma anymore, I’ve seen too many good people get dealt shit hands over and over while nasty bastards live the life of Riley with no consequences.

^this

Buddhist teachings on karma are much more than ‘what goes around comes around’. Karma is considered a force like gravity, no judgement at all, but the law of cause and effect. Karma goes hand in hand with reincarnation, the Buddhist view is that we have all had countless previous lives, and in these lives we have done everything, both negative and positive, we have harmed others as well as treated them well. Even our thoughts are mental actions and generate positive or negative karma, moment by moment.

For me understanding karma in this way explains why bad things happen to good people. Their negative karma was generated in previous lives. We have an opportunity to change our future karma by learning how to train in responding calmly/ positively/constructively when our negative karma ripens in this life, rather than responding negatively and generating further negative karma, keeping the cycle going.

In practice thinking in this way however is easier said than done! We are so brought up with a christian morality mentality which is familiar with punishment/ sinner themes.

No

I recently out of curiosity looked up the man who broke my heart and left me in such a mess it took years to get over. He appears to have totally thrived in life.

I was coming here to put my pedant hat on and lecture about what karma actually is, but @Barrawarra put it much better than I would have 🙂

I personally do believe in reincarnation and the hardships that we experience in one life may be a lesson for wrongs we've done in the past lives - or they may be lessons to help us overcome adversity and achieve great good in lives to come.

I have also recently come to believe that those who deliberately do good for the benefit of others often receive rewards in this life - but generally of the intangible variety. I cannot imagine a greater satisfaction at the end of my life than knowing I have left the world better than I found it, in whatever small or large way.

Or as Cicero said: Virtue is its own reward.

I don't believe on reincarnation so I don't believe in karma. I don't believe babies are born with awful conditions and into awful living situations because of a previous life. (But I really like Buddhism and the noble truths and that suffering is caused by wanting something/pleasure. Buddhism and neuro science around happiness is very aligned).

I do think what you do in life does come back. I don't believe it's magic or karma. The more good I do, the kinder I am, the more people I am kind too - this will give more people more opportunities to connect with me and be kind to me. I believe connections make us happy.

When people aren't very nice it's usually nothing to do with you. It's their projection of their innerworld and if they're unhappy they will express it in that sort of way. I don't believe in bad or good people, I believe we are all capable of making good or bad decisions and those decisions create our life. People who make bad decisions and are horrible to others are not happy. They're not at peace and I don't care how much money they have, cars they have. Pleasure doesn't bring happiness.

Nah I used to but then I see so many arseholes do well while nice people have tough lives.

My DDs father did the bare minimum for her. Didn’t pay for 5 yrs of support and he’s now making a lot of money, is married with more children and living a great life.

My ex fiancé ghosted me and he’s now happily married with children and grandchildren while I’ve never gotten married and had that happy family life.

So unfortunately karma doesn’t exist but I guess it might help others dealing with shitty people and circumstances

The philosophy of karma doesn’t sit well with me as it can negate compassion.

No. Not the traditional meaning or the modern useage.

There's no balancing force. The universe does not give a shit about settling a score and people who do shitty things don't have unconnected bad things happen because they've been an arse. They may have consequences of their actions but they don't get a tree land on their car because 15 years ago they dumped you at the side of the road.

There's no punishment waiting round the corner for someone who treated a person badly.

There's no cosmic star chart for people. It's all random.

No I don't. I see far too many people dealt a shit hand they don't deserve while undeserving folk get all the breaks.

@WouldIwasShookspeared

No. Not the traditional meaning or the modern useage.

There's no balancing force. The universe does not give a shit about settling a score and people who do shitty things don't have unconnected bad things happen because they've been an arse. They may have consequences of their actions but they don't get a tree land on their car because 15 years ago they dumped you at the side of the road.

There's no punishment waiting round the corner for someone who treated a person badly.

There's no cosmic star chart for people. It's all random.

This ⬆️ and:

I believe we will all experience great hardships in different lives, that’s life unfortunately.

Maybe the judgemental are meant to learn the lesson of compassion for others experiencing a hard time.

I do believe that we can only get back what we put out: (as you sow, so shall you reap). It's instant bad karma to look at those who we perceive as having wronged us and decide that they have better lives than they deserve: all choices carry a cost and we have no idea what the choices these people have made have cost them.

In any case, it's not for us to judge. A life based on keeping score of the bad luck that befalls our oppressors would be a poor existence.

If what we put out is an unhappiness that those who we feel have let us down have (apparently) not yet been struck by divine retribution, we should not be surprised when we receive unhappiness in return. Blame yourself or no one.

@Untrained

I don’t believe in karma anymore, I’ve seen too many good people get dealt shit hands over and over while nasty bastards live the life of Riley with no consequences.

This

Definitely not - bad things happen to good people all the time.